


Someone Else

by starchitect



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Gen, Light Angst, Shulk is sad, What else is new, after Galahad Fortress, idk my brain just had a thought and I ran with it, shrugging noises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:53:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26132983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starchitect/pseuds/starchitect
Summary: It’s still her. And yet, Shulk still sees the Fiora of his childhood and the Fiora of right now as two different people.
Relationships: Shiora if you squint
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	Someone Else

**Author's Note:**

> no thoughts head empty here is a thing
> 
> enjoy :V

The only sound Shulk hears upon entering the medical bay in Junks is the low hum of machinery. Various types of devices, all humming at a different pitch, and yet they all come together to create a harmony without a melody.

And in the center of it all is Fiora. Shulk carefully takes her hand and listens to the whirring of her internal cooling system as she sleeps. He watches the slow rise and fall of her chest and counts the second for each breath.  _ Up, down, up, down. One, two, three, one, two, three. _

It’s this that reminds Shulk that she’s still alive. Her flesh and bones have been replaced with mechanical parts, but underneath it all, she’s still  _ Fiora. _ Deep down, she’s still the girl he grew up with. She’s still the girl who would bring him lunch when he forgot to eat, the girl who ran away from home for a night because she had a fight with Dunban, and she’s still the girl who wouldn’t hesitate to bail Shulk and Reyn of out trouble whenever one of them had a stupid idea.

It’s still  _ her. _ And yet, Shulk still sees the Fiora of his childhood and the Fiora of right now as two different people.

She’s so much different now. Her new body is mostly metal and silicone, and there are screws and plates where there weren’t any before. Shulk watches her joints working when she moves, and as much as he thinks they should, they don’t seem lifelike at all. She functions purely on water now—no food or any other form of energy is necessary to fuel her mechanical body, not even ether, and that almost feels like an insult. Fiora grew up with a love for cooking and trying out new flavors and combinations, but now she won’t even be able to taste anything she makes, and that thought alone punches a hole in Shulk’s heart.

As much as he wants to think otherwise, Fiora isn’t the same anymore. This new version of her is so much different and lacking in life where there was so  _ much _ before. She’s not  _ Fiora _ anymore, she’s...someone else. Now she’s just Fiora, but not  _ Fiora. _

It’s just like she said—the Fiora he knew is dead. Shulk had argued with her before, but now… He doesn’t really believe himself anymore.

He sighs and squeezes her cold, metallic hand. It’s not the same.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Fiora.”


End file.
